


Purple Streaks and Polka Dots

by secretagentspydetectiveninja



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/F, a birthday present for an awesome friend of mine, just cuteness tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-12-02 23:47:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11520078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secretagentspydetectiveninja/pseuds/secretagentspydetectiveninja
Summary: Julenette cuteness because this fandom needs more of it





	Purple Streaks and Polka Dots

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Miyotesse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miyotesse/gifts).



> HAPPY BIRTHDAY @MIYOTESSE!!! I know you love Juleka ships, so here's one I hope will be good!!

Marinette was Ladybug.

Juleka could hardly believe it. All she had done was walk into the empty locker room at the wrong time – or at least, she thought it had been empty. She hadn’t realized Ladybug was in there. And when Ladybug suddenly disappeared in a flash of light, leaving Marinette standing there, unaware of Juleka’s presence, it had taken several seconds to sink in.

“Tikki, I’ve got some snacks in my locker for you, don’t worry! I know that was such a tough battle…”

Marinette was speaking to a – a what? A little flying bug thing? And the bug was talking back. Juleka was starting to think perhaps she must be dreaming or something.

But then Marinette turned around and saw her. Her face went pale, her expression guilty. The little bug creature whizzed into her pocket in under a second.

“Oh – Juleka! H-hi!” Marinette gave a nervous wave. “What are you doing here?”

“You’re Ladybug,” Juleka said.

“What? Haha no, of course I’m not… how could I be Ladybug, that’s ridiculous…”

“I just saw you.”

“Are you sure? Must have been like… a trick of the light or something!”

Juleka shook her head. “I heard you too.”

Marinette’s face fell. “Listen, Juleka… it’s true. But please, you can’t tell anyone! You have to keep it a secret!” She ran over and clasped Juleka’s hands tightly in her own. “You promise you will, right? Please?”

The complete terror and earnest in Marinette’s voice sounded so new. Usually she was the oddest mix of confident and flustered, either coolly taking charge of the class and standing up to Chloé, or stuttering over Adrien and dropping everything she was holding. But now… she was gazing at Juleka with so much vulnerability, such intensity…

“Of course I’ll keep it a secret,” Juleka said.

“Oh Juleka, you’re a star – thank you so much!” Marinette smiled at her, relieved. Then she ran off towards the other side of the lockers and out of sight.

 

 

Marinette was Ladybug.

It still wasn’t sinking in. Marinette had always been a fairly prominent member of the class, especially compared to Juleka, but now Juleka took extra notice of her. How was it possible that her own classmate was a superhero?

Of course Marinette and Ladybug looked similar. People had already pointed that out. But there were plenty of girls in Paris who shared physical similarities with Ladybug, it was nothing special. And they had similar voices too, but again, that wasn’t a big deal.

Watching Marinette a little more closely over the next few days, Juleka noticed things she had missed before.

The way Marinette carried herself when Adrien wasn’t around to distract her. She would always march around everywhere, her head held high, ready to make a statement. It was the same way Ladybug would walk when facing down an akuma, or taking a night patrol.

The face Marinette made when she was concentrating. It was easy to imagine the gears turning round in her head, working towards a creative solution to whatever problem she was facing. It was the face Ladybug made when figuring out how to use her Lucky Charm.

The way Marinette pushed loose strands of hair away from her face while working, the way her entire face lit up when something went right for her, the way she clenched her fists when something was unjust…

So many things Juleka hadn’t noticed before. Paying attention to Marinette was really teaching her a lot. It was fascinating, in a way. And now that she had started, it was hard to stop.

 

 

Marinette was Ladybug.

And Ladybug herself had dropped onto Juleka’s balcony late one night. It just didn’t seem real. Ladybug was a celebrity, a superhero, larger than life – and she was on Juleka’s balcony.

“Hi Juleka! Sorry for the sudden surprise visit, I just happened to be passing nearby and I thought I’d come and check up on you.”

It was both dissonant and completely natural at the same time. Ladybug was speaking to her in the exact same tone as Marinette usually did. Something about it felt unusual, but still… not exactly wrong. It was new, in a good way. And Ladybug with Marinette’s voice and attitude seemed to fit perfectly.

“Hi Ladybug,” Juleka replied. “Nice to see you.”

Ladybug smiled and sat on the balcony railing. “You know, I’ve been thinking a lot about you recently. Since you know my secret identity, my guess is that you must have questions about it. About how my powers work, things like that. And I don’t really have anyone else to discuss it with, so I suppose it would be nice. Ask away!”

Juleka’s mind ran blank. She had questions, sure. She was curious, just like anyone else would be in this situation. But being put on the spot and expected to have something ready to say was just too much for her.

“Juleka? Are you alright?”

The way Ladybug was looking at her, the expression of concern and affection, it was the same way Marinette had looked when Juleka had told her about the photo curse. And Marinette had worked her socks off to break that photo curse. Even harder than most people realized, counting her efforts as Ladybug too. She was just such a good person. And she had put in all that selfless hard work, just for Juleka!

The thought brought Juleka’s mind to ease. “Yes, I’m fine, sorry.” She thought back to when she had seen Ladybug detransform. Yes, she had questions. Clearing her throat, she began to ask them.

Over the next half an hour, she learnt so much from Ladybug’s answers. About the magic earrings, about the little kwami called “Tikki” who ate cookies, the way the yoyo purified akumas, about how even Ladybug did not know the civilian identity of her partner Chat Noir. There was so much more to this superhero thing than Juleka had realized. It sounded so stressful to have to balance all that with the ups and downs of school and day-to-day life in general.

And yet… it sounded so freeing, too. To be able to use a mask to be yourself without anyone knowing. To have people pay attention to you, to look up to you. Juleka couldn’t help wondering if something like that might help her with her own confidence. And the attention might be nice. People hardly ever noticed her, usually.

Except Ladybug now.

“Thanks,” she told Ladybug once her time was up. “That was so… awesome.”

Ladybug winked at her. “Remember, don’t tell anyone!”

With that, she leapt away from the balcony and yoyo-ed off into the horizon.

Juleka returned to her bed in her room and lay there, trying to fall asleep. But she could not get her mind off the things she had just found out.

Well… not exactly. To be precise, she could not get her mind off Marinette Dupain-Cheng. And for some reason, she didn’t mind.

 

 

Marinette was Ladybug. And the girl herself was standing in front of Juleka’s desk, a box in her hand and a smile on her face.

“I see you’re wearing a polka dot headband!” she said brightly, pointing at the new accessory in Juleka’s hair.

“Mhm,” Juleka said. “It’s to like, show appreciation for Ladybug. Because she’s awesome. Even awesomer than I thought before.”

She didn’t say anymore at the moment, acutely aware that any of her classmates might overhear. She didn’t need to say anything though. The look on Marinette’s face was enough.

“It looks really good on you!”

Compliments from anyone made Juleka blush. But a compliment from Marinette – Ladybug herself – made her feel so warm and fuzzy that it took her several seconds before she could mumble a thanks.

“Anyway,” Marinette continued, opening the box she was holding, “I baked some cupcakes for you. Since we seem to be hanging out more often. It’s just a thing, you know? I like baking stuff for my friends.”

Friends? The word made Juleka’s heart leap for joy. Very few people were willing to get to know her well enough to become friends. Even fewer would have gone out of their way to bake her something. Marinette really was something special.

The cupcakes in the box were arranged neatly, and were covered in what looked like black and purple icing.

“I made them black and purple because I know you like those colours,” Marinette said. “I could have added more details but I guess I don’t really know that much about you yet…”

“They’re awesome,” Juleka mumbled. On the inside she was screaming. Why was she always so bad at showing gratitude? Was “awesome” the only word she could ever say? Here was Marinette making food for her, and Juleka was barely showing any emotion at all!

A sudden thought came into her head. She decided to act on it before her impulse control kicked in, otherwise she would never be able to.

“Do you wanna catch a movie sometime?” she asked quickly.

“I would love to!” Marinette said, beaming. “We should definitely hang out more often! That way I’d get to know you better too – and maybe next time the cupcakes might be more personal.”

Juleka smiled, then took a cupcake out of the box and had a bite.

“How is it?” Marinette asked.

_Don’t say “awesome” this time!_

“It’s delicious.”

“Yay!”

The sweet smile on Marinette’s face sent Juleka’s stomach into loops. Very few people ever smiled at her with such warmth, such genuine affection. It was new.

And it was nice.

 

 

Marinette was Ladybug. To think that Ladybug herself was here, in this cinema, sitting beside Juleka, and no one else in the room had any idea. To them, Marinette was just a normal teenage girl. But to Juleka, she was special.

The movie was alright. It wasn’t really Juleka’s type. She loved horror movies, the kind of thing that would give other people nightmares. But something like that would have been too much for Marinette. At least they could both enjoy a chick flick.

It was strange, though. Marinette could face down supervillains every single day, and yet she couldn’t watch a horror movie? She could calmly deliver one-liners before saving the city, yet she couldn’t say a full sentence around Adrien? She could leap over buildings and skyscrapers with no problem, and yet could trip over a misplaced bag in a school classroom?

It was those kind of thoughts that went through Juleka’s head while the movie continued on the screen. Marinette was a real mystery, that was for sure. The more Juleka found out about her, the more questions it raised. Something about her was just so intriguing. Usually people called Juleka the mysterious one, but to Juleka, that title now belonged to the secret superhero who sat beside her.

Sitting beside her was nice. There was such a small distance between them. Usually people preferred to stay away from Juleka as much as possible. But Marinette was so close. So close that their hands almost touched.

After the movie was over, they walked back to the metro station together. Marinette was gushing about the movie, her eyes lit up with little pretty stars only Juleka noticed, her cheeks flushed with admiration. It was so nice to watch someone being that enthusiastic. Juleka found that she couldn’t tear her eyes away.

Finally, Marinette looked at her and said in a much quieter voice, “Thank you for keeping my secret, by the way.”

Of course. It was easy for Juleka to keep secrets when she hardly talked to anyone anyway. And she wouldn’t dream of betraying someone as wonderful as Marinette.

“It’s no problem,” she replied.

“Really, thanks. It means a lot to me. I’m so glad you’re someone I can trust.”

Juleka looked down at her feet, wondering how Marinette could think of her so highly. She nervously brushed her purple streak out of her face. When she looked up again, she saw that Marinette’s expression had changed.

“I… I hardly ever get to see both your eyes…”

She looked almost surprised. Her gaze was so intense that Juleka felt like melting on the spot. Without thinking, she tucked the purple streak of hair into the side of her polka dot headband, allowing both her eyes to be seen again. Marinette was still staring.

“You have beautiful eyes, you know…”

“They’re just contacts,” Juleka muttered, hoping Marinette wouldn’t think her eyes were actually blood red.

“I know. But still.”

“Oh… well thank you.”

“No problem. But you can keep your hair loose if it makes you more comfortable!”

Juleka just smiled, not sure whether or not to explain that Marinette never made her uncomfortable. Sure, around other people she preferred to have her hair hide her eyes. But with Marinette? It just felt like it didn’t matter too much.

Hoping this wouldn’t sound too out of place, she took a deep breath and said, “You have beautiful eyes too, by the way.”

She regretted it almost immediately. It always felt weird to give other girls compliments, like she was somehow being a creep just because of the fact that she wasn’t straight. But Marinette didn’t seem weirded out at all. She suddenly had a huge smile on her face, one that made those brilliant blue eyes seem a thousand times brighter.

“Thank you Juleka!”

And another stomach loop. It seemed to happen every time Marinette said her name. Juleka knew perfectly well what that meant. She had been starting to suspect it for a while.

 

Marinette was Ladybug. In that case it made perfect sense that Juleka was starting to have a crush on her. After all, most kids in Paris would sell a kidney for Ladybug, so of course Juleka held her in high regard. And since Ladybug and Marinette were the same person, it made sense that Juleka would also be feeling the same way about Marinette.

But this wasn’t to do with Ladybug. After all, Juleka hardly saw the superhero. No – this was about Marinette herself. They had been hanging out together a lot more often recently. Walks in the park, trips to the zoo, homework sessions…

Every single time, it made her feel so much warmer inside. When Marinette was with her, she didn’t feel so alone. It was like Marinette’s mix of sweetness and confidence was infectious. Juleka felt much more alive around her, much more real, much more animated. She could say things without first thinking it over a thousand times in her head. She laughed – so much! Marinette was good at making her laugh.

And it slowly was becoming clear to her. Marinette, her now close friend…

Juleka was in love with her.

And what could she do about it? Nothing, probably. Marinette was so popular. There must be so many people who were in love with her too. Nathaniel had been, so had Nino, probably Alya too, no one would be surprised if Adrien was falling back for her…

No point trying anything. Juleka knew she didn’t stand a chance. But that was okay too. Just the fact that Marinette cared about her was enough. Having someone so amazing as a friend was such a joyous, wonderful feeling, one that made Juleka’s spirits soar.

 

 

Marinette was Ladybug.

Where was she? There was an akuma running rampant down the streets. Civilians were fleeing in terror. What was it? Some kind of scaly creature? It reminded Juleka of something out of a horror movie.

Even as the creature advanced upon her, its jaws gaping wide to reveal countless rows of spiky teeth, she couldn’t help but be impressed. Why couldn’t all the akumas look as cool as this? Even the best CGI would never look as real as this living, breathing monster. There was only one thought running through Juleka’s mind as the creature stood before her.

“Awesome!”

Strong arms suddenly wrapped around her. She felt herself carried far up in the air, away from the creature, up onto a nearby rooftop. It wasn’t until she was a safe distance away that she looked up to see that her rescuer was none other than Ladybug.

“Juleka, you could have been hurt!”

Ladybug’s voice was wavering. She crouched to the ground and hugged Juleka tight, so very tight.

“Next time there’s an akuma attack, get to safety as soon as you can! I don’t want anything happening to you! I would never forgive myself!”

Juleka was shocked at how upset Ladybug sounded. She really cared so much?

There was no time for more conversation. Ladybug gently set Juleka down on the rooftop, then left again to go face the villain. Juleka wandered over to the edge and stared down at the battle.

Ladybug had saved her. Of course it had happened before. But this time, somehow, it felt different. More personal.

Usually Ladybug saved civilians because it was her duty, it was the right thing to do, she didn’t want innocent people getting hurt. But she had saved Juleka because Juleka was precious to her.

Juleka sat down and hugged her knees to her chest, filled with too many emotions, thinking too many things.

It seemed like hours before she felt those same arms wrapped around her again, in another hug. She turned aside to see Marinette there. The akuma attack must be over by now.

“I’m glad you’re safe,” Marinette said, still not letting go.

“It’s all thanks to you,” Juleka replied.

“Well that’s my job, isn’t it? Keeping people safe?”

“You’re very good at it.”

Marinette pulled away a little so that Juleka could see her grin. “Of course I am. But anyway, I wanted to say… your composure levels are off the charts! The Velociwraith was staring you down, and you didn’t even flinch? Same with the Horrificator all that time ago? You’re a legend, Juleka! Are you even afraid of anything?”

Juleka smiled back. “Only things that other people aren’t afraid of. Phone calls, giving speeches, not showing up in photographs…”

Marinette pulled her into another hug. “You really are one of a kind.”

 

 

Marinette was Ladybug. Her super suit was waterproof, but her normal Marinette clothes were not. All the same, she only lived just down the road from school. She didn’t need an umbrella to protect her from the rain.

And that was why she was offering it to Juleka.

They were stood just outside the entrance doors, at the top of the stairs. The rain was pouring so heavily that splashes of it were able to reach them from all the way over there.

Marinette had her arm outstretched, holding the umbrella out towards Juleka. The look on her face… it was so filled with affection, love, care…

“Juleka, are you alright?”

Oops. The silence must have gone on too long.

“Juleka, you’re… you’re blushing…”

Usually Juleka put on so much foundation that it would be impossible to see her blush. But evidently today her emotions were just too strong. For once, she didn’t feel like hiding her feelings at all. Maybe it was time that Marinette knew the truth.

“Juleka… I…”

Marinette had taken a step closer. She was frowning now, like she was trying to work something out. Staring at Juleka so intensely. Trying to make sense of why her friend was being so silent today, so nervous, so overwhelmed, so…

_Lovestruck._

There was a clap of thunder in the distance. Suddenly, Marinette’s whole demeanour changed. She looked stunned. Her eyes had gone wide, and there was a faint pink glow on her cheeks.

Had she… had she figured it out?

She took another step closer.

“Um… Juleka…”

One hand still holding the umbrella, the other reached forwards and wrapped around Juleka’s own hand, so strangely warm in comparison with the cold air surrounding them.

“W-would you like to come over to my house tonight?”

Was this happening? Was this really, actually happening?

Of course Juleka had been to Marinette’s house before. Even back before they were such close friends, she had been to the bakery dozens of times. That was nothing special.

But the way Marinette was asking… it felt different somehow. And the body language behind it displayed very well what Marinette was actually thinking. If this was meant to be purely platonic, Marinette would not be blushing so much, looking so nervous, starting to stumble over her words the way she did with Adrien. This was something else.

Hardly even daring to breathe, Juleka just nodded and squeezed Marinette’s hand a little tighter. The reaction was immediate. Marinette’s brilliant blue eyes lit up as if they’d been hit by a spark of electricity.

“Nice!” She let out a sweet, sweet chuckle. Then the nervousness returned. “And, um… another question…”

She closed her eyes and spoke as quickly as she could.

“Ladybug wants to know if you would be her girlfriend!”

Ladybug’s girlfriend?

Well, Marinette was Ladybug. So if Ladybug was asking Juleka to be her girlfriend, then that meant Marinette was too.

Marinette’s girlfriend… it sounded right.

Juleka finally took the umbrella from out of Marinette’s hand, though she felt so on fire she was sure she wouldn’t need it anyway. “I would love to.”

She caught a momentary glimpse of Marinette’s triumphant smile before she was pulled into a close hug. For several seconds they stood their together, cuddling under the umbrella, the soothing sounds of rain dominating the background.

It felt so comfortable. Usually Juleka only felt comfortable when she was alone. But right here in Marinette’s arms, it was so comfortable she could stay here forever.

“So, uh…” Marinette was so close, the breath from her voice tickled Juleka’s ear. “Should we go over to my place now? We can bake cupcakes…”

“Yeah,” Juleka whispered back. “That would… that would be awesome.”

Marinette was Ladybug. And now, Marinette was Juleka’s girlfriend too.

It was like a dream come true.


End file.
